Once ousted of 2019 World Cup, Ambati Rayudu slams BCCI for not selecting Rinku Singh in T20 WC 2024 squad

Rinku Singh has amassed 356 runs in just 15 T20Is he has played till now for India.

Former Indian cricketer Ambati Rayudu has slammed Indian selectors for not picking in-form lower-middle order batter Rinku Singh in the initial 15-member squad for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024, which is going to be played in June. 

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the Indian squad for the upcoming global event on April 30. However, the selectors made some bold moves as they excluded Rinku from the main line-up and instead added him to the reserves list.

The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batter has been one of the most consistent performances for his franchise over the last two years in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Rinku had a dream run in the IPL 2023 season, which also earned him the cap for India in the shortest format last year.

Since then, he has been performing consistently for the Men in Blue. Even in the last T20I game he played, he stitched an unbeaten 190-run partnership with Rohit Sharma in the third match against Afghanistan earlier this year. In 15 T20Is, Rinku has amassed 356 runs at a superb strike rate of 176.23 at an average of 89.00 till now.

His omission clearly indicates stats rule over cricketing sense: Ambati Rayudu on Rinku Singh

Now, a former Indian cricketer-turned-commentator, Ambati Rayudu has voiced his opinion on selectors axing Rinku form the T20 World Cup 2024 squad. Rayudu said that over the last two years, Rinku has been the only Indian batter who could walk out in the final overs and smash bowlers fluently with a higher strike rate and win games for his side.

‘Rinku Singh’s omission clearly indicates stats rule over cricketing sense.. who in this selected Indian has been walking out in the 16th and 17th over in a t20 game in the last 2 years and playing fluently with a high strike rate and can win a game except Ravindra Jadeja.. he is a big miss.. quality should come before quantity and most importantly cricketing ability should come before likability on Instagram,’ Ambati Rayudu wrote on his X handle.

It is to be noted that Rayudu himself was a victim of poor selection during the 2019 ICC ODI World Cup. After batting brilliantly in the No. 4 position for his side for almost two years, he was snubbed from the 2019 World Cup squad. In his place, selectors picked Vijay Shankar. The then chief selector MSK Prasad, defended Shankar by stating that he was a “Three Dimensional Player” as he is an all-rounder.

India squad for T20 World Cup 2024:

Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (Wk), Sanju Samson (Wk), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.

Travelling reserves: Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Avesh Khan

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